Jolene
by Avonnalay-Ariemay
Summary: Complete. James chases Lily. Lily hexes James. We all know the routine. But what about their friend's reactions to the volatile courtship? How about the havoc caused to another of James' close childhood friends during his pursuit? How did she handle it?
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer - It's not mine. It never was. I'm just borrowing the characters, so don't sue me. And the lyrics to the song are the property of Dolly Parton. 

A/N- Okay people, here is just a little something I whipped up in a few days that absolutely would not get out of my head no matter what I did. If anyone has ever heard the song 'Jolene' then they might be able to understand where I'm going with this. 

Anyhow, the actual lyrics to the song are supposed to be journal entries in the main character's diary. So, now that this is out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy. 

Later,

A.A.

Chapter 1

"Potter!!! When I get my hands on you, you are going to die a slow and very painful death!!"

The occupants of the Gryffindor Common Room stared up the stairway leading to the seventh year girl's dormitories as a fuming Lily Evans came down the stairs. The normally calm Head Girl stopped at the foot of the stairs and glared into the Common Room, searching for the object of her eternal ire, James Potter.

The occurrence of Lily yelling at James Potter had become an all to common sight as of late. Ever since the beginning of the year, James had tried everything in his power to get Lily to notice him. It was common to see James and his buddies plotting their next prank, which would somehow or another involve Lily at some point or another. But what was not so common was an angry blonde headed, blue eyed Lily Evans standing at the foot of the staircase, wearing Slytherin colored robes.

"Sabine! Where is that rotten excuse for a wizard?!" yelled Lily, spotting a girl over in the corner doing homework. The girl in question, Sabine LeFay, looked up at the Head Girl and frowned. Sabine and James were good friends, seeing as how they had grown up together. And Lily knew that if any of the students knew where Potter was, it would be Sabine. The girl was practically the fifth Marauder -mischievous and smart-, and very protective of the boys, especially James.

Upon hearing her name, the brown headed, blue eyed Sabine looked up from her book and frowned.

"I don't know where he's at. Lily." she said, shaking her head. "He and Sirius took off about ten minutes ago for the Quidditch Pitch, though. Try looking there." Lily nodded and stormed out of the Common room, Hell bent on ringing James Potter's neck for pulling the ridiculous prank on her.

When the portrait finally slammed shut, every Gryffindor in the room heaved a sigh of relief.

"He's not on the Pitch, is he?" came the amused voice of Arabella Figg a few minuets later. Sabine grinned and moved over to a window to watch as the angry red head stalked across the grass and towards the Pitch.

"You honestly think I'd send her to where James is right now?" Sabine asked, cracking a mischievous grin. "She'd kill him!"

"You're covering for him?" Arabella asked.

"Don't I always?" Sabine answered, waving her hand in a dismissing motion. "Somebody's got to keep that boy out of trouble."

"More often than not, especially lately. It seems like every girl I know is trying to snag either James, Sirius, or Remus, especially James. How many times have you run interference for him this week?" Arabella asked, her hand on her hip and a smile on her lips.

"Do you mean from Evans, or the rest of the female population in this school?" Sabine grinned.

"Both."

"Evans, about eight times. Everyone else, 142, and it's only Wednesday. So, that count could double between now and Friday." Sabine answered, shaking her head.

"Damn." Arabella said. "It's just a pity the one girl he wants, does not want anything to do with him."

"Yeah, well….life sucks." Sabine said. Arabella only nodded in silent agreement.

"Don't I know it." she said, walking back to her game of Wizard's Chess.

Sabine sat in the window seat of the Tower, watching as the figure of the Gryffindor Head Girl grew smaller against the skyline.

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'Lily this. Lily that. I'm so sick of hearing about her. I'm going to go nuts if James keeps on about her.' Sabine thought angrily. _'She doesn't want him. Why can't James open up his eyes and see what's in front of him, instead of going after her. That boy's persistence amazes me at times…'_

Leaning back against the windowsill, Sabine watched as the sun slowly began to set, her mind fixated on her friend James.

Sabine had known James since childhood, and had grown up with him, as well as the infamous Sirius Black. The three children had formed a close knit friendship during their younger years that had seemed solid and nearly unbreakable….until the boys hit their fourth year at Hogwarts and their hormones had kicked in. Ever since then, the boys had been chasing skirts, and loving every minute of it. Up until that point, Sabine's affinity for the two had been only based on the close friendship they had shared, in fact it was still like that as far as Sirius was concerned, but James had begun to be a completely different story.

Even since the end of her fourth year, her feelings had slowly been changing for the messy haired boy. At first, it had been easy for her to ignore the fluttery feeling of warmth she would get anytime he gave her that endearing, mischievous grin he was so famous for. She had chalked it up to her own body's hormones, and her reaction to a guy. She had even dismissed the sinking feeling of utter disappointment when James had started dating girls, rationalizing it as over protectiveness on her part for her friend. Even when James would screw up with his current girlfriend and come running to her for advice on how to fix whatever he had messed up, and she could feel the intense pangs of jealousy crash through her, she pushed it off as being mad because he did not spend as much time around her as before. 

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'Denial is a bitch!' she had thought for the longest time.

Sabine knew she was headed for a heartache, falling for her childhood friend, but she could not help it. James was her best friend and confidant. They had always stuck by one another, through thick and thin, and she knew her growing affections for him would cause massive amounts of confusion if he should ever find out. 

So, almost on reflex, she had buried the treacherous feelings deep in her heart, not allowing them to surface except for in the dead of night when she was alone in her bed. The rest of the time, they stayed hidden away, festering to a point where Sabine thought it would cause her to go crazy. But once again, she would just bury them deep down and watch as James flirted with nearly every girl in school.

For nearly two years, she had done this, playing the part of the platonic, childhood friend to James; when all she really wanted to do was strangle any girl who dated him and keep him to herself. And this feeling only intensified when James had set his sights on the fiery tempered Lily Evans, a red headed Muggle born witch who had knocked down every one of James' advances, along with him on occasions.

At first, Sabine had been glad that Lily had refused to rise to the taunts and teases James presented. She was happy Lily was so disinterested in him, even though she never told James of her elation. Every time Lily would brush James off, Sabine could not help but jump for joy on the inside, even though she would put up an amused front when around James. She felt guilty for getting pleasure from James' pain, but she could not help that, either. Her double life of feelings had been tearing her up for months, but she hid everything, too afraid of ruining her friendship with him to do anything about her feelings.

She had hoped that James' infatuation with Lily would wane in time, seeing as how Lily kept pushing up her defensive walls. Unfortunately, it was not happening.. James was still being persistent, which was normal. But what scared Sabine the most was Lily's recent reactions to his teasing, taunts, and challenges.

Evans was buckling.

After nearly two years straight of James trying to gain her attention and favor, Lily Evans was starting to give in to him. It was only little things that had changed as of late. The red head would smile at him every now and then when she thought no one was looking. She'd talk with James for longer periods of time, and even laugh at some of the pranks he'd pulled. They were spending more time together, even if it was because of their duties as Head Boy and Girl. It was just little things, but they stood out a mile as far as Sabine was concerned.

James had been ecstatic with the subtle changes in Lily's behavior, believing he was finally getting a well deserved chance, and that had only spurred him on even more. In fact, that was why Lily had just been pranked. 

Sabine knew that James loved being able to ruffle the usually calm Lily, causing her anger to shoot through the roof. James had confided in Sabine that he purposely got Lily mad because he liked knowing he was one of the few that could cause her to react like that. Anger was the one passionate emotion he knew he could get out of Lily, and he revelled in that knowledge.

Meanwhile, during these dramatic confrontations, Sabine had many times caught herself wanting to completely destroy the stable grounds James had already formed with the fiery witch. 

She was jealous, and she was scared.

It was pure and simple. She wanted James, but did not want to ruin her friendship with him.

Sighing as the sun finally set, Sabine pulled out her journal, turned to a well worn page that she had read over many tines since James had started his relentless pursuit, and read the beginnings of a verse she had written:

_ ****_

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,

I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, 

Please don't take him just because you can……

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A/N - Okay, how'd that chapter go. I know it is kind of a rough start, but it does get better. Just so everyone knows, each chapter takes place at different times during the seventh year of school for James and Co. 

They all tie together in the end, but I figured I'd give you a warning so no one got too confused.

Anyway, I hope you liked the beginning.

Later,

A.A.


	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. All character rights go to J.K. Rowling, and the rights to the lyrics go to Ms. Parton.

A/N - Okay, here's the next chapter. There is more wonderful Lily/James interaction. This scene is actually set during the Christmas break, so there are fewer students at school. Hope you enjoy. 

Later,

A.A.

Chapter 2

The Christmas party in the Gryffindor Tower was one to remember. Piles of food, bottles of butterbeer, and stacks or present could be seen all around the Common Room on Christmas Eve night. The Gryffindor students who had stayed for the holidays had planned the party, headed by Sirius and James, of course. 

Now, most of the students, at least the ones who had not passed out from the alcohol laced butterbeer, were sleepily making their way to the dorms. Sabine watched as the party winded down. She was one of the few who were still able to walk straight, seeing as how she had not drank any of the alcoholic butterbeer. Her other friends, unfortunately, had not been as lucky. Sirius was completely smashed, and Peter was not too far away from being too far gone as well. Remus was only slightly inebriated, and James had a decent buzz going on. Everyone else was either already passed out, or on their way to their dorms to pass out.

"I think it's time to call it a night, gentlemen." she called out, watching as Peter stumbled up the steps towards his dorm.

"Oh, come on Sabby-kitten," Sirius slurred. "We was jus' getting' to da fun part." Sabine raised her eyebrows in question and waited for him to continue. Sirius was a one man show when he was drunk, and she was waiting for the show to start.

"And what part would that be, Padfoot?" James asked, decidedly more sober than his friend.

"I'z gonna dance." Sirius slurred, a goofy grin on his happy face. Sabine hid a grin and James chuckled.

"I think it's time you went to sleep, Padfoot." James said, nodding towards the staircase.

"But I wanna dance." the taller boy whined, pouting like a child.

"You can dance tomorrow, Padfoot." Sabine said gently, holding back a snicker at her friend's drunken antics. "For now, let's get you to bed."

"You gonna tuck me in, Sabby-kitten?" he asked, grinning at her. 

"Yeah, Padsy. I'll tuck you in." Sabine said, frowning at the pet name Sirius only used when he was: a) purposely trying to annoy her, b) trying to make her feel better, or in this particular case, c) drunk as all Hell.

"Need some help, Sabine?" Remus asked, hefting one of Sirius' arms over his shoulder to help stabilize the taller boy.

"Yeah, let's see if we can get him up there before he decides to do the hula." Remus grinned and the two slowly made their way up the stairs and into the dorms. After getting the now passed out Sirius in his bed, Sabine excused herself and left to go back to the Common Room. Halfway down the hallway leading back, she heard James' voice, and Lily's nervous laugh. Ducking behind a corner, and peering out from behind the suit of armor, she listened in on what was going on.

"Cute bracelet, Evans. Where'd you get it?" James asked.

"That's none of your concern, Potter. Now get out of my way." Lily said firmly. Just from her voice, Sabine could tell that the Head Girl had ingested some of the alcohol laced beverages, and was starting to feel the affects.

"Aww, come on now, Evans. Where's your Christmas spirit?" James prodded.

"Tucked away somewhere safe, I assure you." the red head had answered firmly.

"Such a grump, and on Christmas Eve, too. I'll bet you don't even follow normal Christmas traditions." James teased.

"Yes, I do." Lily said defensively.

"Then you know what that is, don't you?" James asked. Sabine heard Lily's gasp and the creak of the stairs as she backed up one more step.

"Don't even thing about it, Potter. Mistletoe or not, I'm not going to kiss you." Lily said firmly.

"Scared, Evans?" 

"No." Lily said.

"Prove it then." James challenged. Sabine rolled her eyes at James' challenge. _'This just proves that both of them should never drink alcohol.'_ she thought grimly.

"How?" Lily asked, confused.

"Follow Christmas tradition." James said. Sabine watched as he took another stop towards the red head, closing the space in between them once more.

"I'm not kissing you, Potter."

"Because you're scared." James teased.

"I'm not scared." she said defiantly.

"Yes, you are. You're scared you might actually like it."

"Anybody ever tell you that you're awful conceited?" Lily fumed. Sabine could tell the girl was quickly loosing her patience with James.

"I'm not conceited, just convinced." he said. "And I'm convinced that you owe me a kiss."

"Not going to happen, Potter. Now move!" Lily said.

"You know, Evans, you're cute when you're angry." James said, as though making a comment about the weather. Sabine watched as Lily flushed prettily and tried to regain her composure after receiving such an unexpected compliment.

"And do you realize that I know enough hexes and curses to send you to St. Mungos for the remainder of the year?" she countered.

"Ouch. Feisty, aren't we?" James said.

"I'm warning you, Potter…." Lily ground out.

"Okay. I give, I give. You win." James said, backing away from the girl and letting her go up. Sabine quickly ducked behind the suit of armor and waited for Lily to pass.

"Thank you." Lily said primly.

Sabine heard Lily begin to climb the stairs and was about to come out of her hiding place when James called out to Lily one more time.

"What have I got to do, Lily, to get a Christmas kiss?"

"You're a wizard, Potter. Next time, just use the magic words." Lily said with a grin. And with that, Lily went into her old dorm, shutting the door with a soft '_click_'. Sabine sank down next to the wall, tears threatening to break out as she heard James' whoop of happiness.

Lily was giving into him, and it was breaking Sabine's heart. Lily's last statement had been enough to prove it too her. Half drunk or not, Lily would never have said something like that if she had not meant it. Things were starting to fall apart, and Sabine was one of them.

After a few minutes, Sabine stood up and made her way to her own dorm. Two of her roommates were passed out in the Common Room, an the other had went home for the Christmas break. Once again, she pulled out the journal and turned to the well worn page once she reached the relative privacy of her four-poster bed. Instead, this time, she read the second verse on the page.

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Your beauty is beyond compare, with flaming locks of auburn hair,

With ivory skin, and eyes of emerald green

Your smile is like a breath of spring,

Your voice is soft like summer rain,

And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.

That next morning, when everyone had come to the Common Room to open their gifts, Sabine had noticed that James seemed awfully nervous. When everyone had finished unwrapping their gifts, and was about to head to breakfast, a lone owl soared through an open window, and landed in front of lily. Sabine watched as the girl took the package, and opened it after giving the owl a pat on the head, and an owl treat. Sabine also noticed that James seemed suddenly fidgety and Sirius was snickering. A few seconds later, a gasp was heard form Lily as she lifted up a necklace from the box.

It was a golden lily-shaped pendant with a red ruby in the center. Sabine felt her mouth go dry. It was the same necklace that she had jokingly told James to buy Lily for Christmas. She had meant it as a joke, but obviously he had thought it real advice, and listened to her. She felt the bile rise up in her throat and a serious pang of jealousy shoot through her stomach when she saw Lily's face take on a happy expression after reading the note attached to the box.

The present was from James, and Sabine knew it. She also knew that he would not have signed the card because he would not have wanted her to throw the gift back in his face. Secretly, she was wishing that Lily would throw the necklace back into the box. But it seemed fate was not on her side that morning, because Lily put the necklace on and secured it around her neck before leaving the Common room for breakfast.

Sabine chanced a look at James, and frowned when she saw the relieved grin on his face, confirming her earlier suspicions.

The necklace HAD been from him, and he had just melted another piece of Lily's heart, along with breaking a piece of her own.

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A/N - Okay, here's the second chapter for you guys. I hope you are enjoying this little story. It's not going to be too long, probably only four or five chapters in total. However, I really want to know what you guys think about this.

So, with that said, please remember to review.

Later,

A.A.


	3. Chapter 3

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Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. Characters belong to Rowling. Lyrics belong to Parton. Plot -what there is of one, anyways- belongs to me.

A/N - Nothing much to say right now…… So just enjoy.

Just a few thank you's to pass out:

Lilyflower - The lyrics aren't mine. They actually come from a song that has been around for a while called 'Jolene'. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

SpangleDaCanary- As a matter of fact, you were the first. **Cheers repeatedly** I figured someone would like a drunk Sirius; I know I would. 

;) Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you like the next chapter. (More Sirius interaction!)

Rider-of-Rohan23- Well, I'm glad you like the way things tie in together. I'm glad someone noticed that. I like the song as well, and I just kinda figured it would fit in, at least in my own twisted mind! ;) Thanks for the review, by the way. I'm glad I could give you some sort of entertainment for a while. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters. Later. A.A.

Chapter 3

Sabine slammed the door to her dorm shut and sat down on her bed as two lonely tear drops forced their way down her face and into her lap. It was New Years eve, and she had just come from the Head's dormitories, or to be more precise, James' dorm. 

The Marauders had planned on pulling a prank tonight along with her help, and they had all met up in the Head's dorm, waiting for James. After waiting for a half hour, Sabine had volunteered to go rouse the boy up, since he had obviously forgotten to set some sort of alarm to wake him up.

When she had entered the darkened room, she noticed that he had actually cleaned it up since the last time she had been in there. There were no dirty clothes or books scattered all over the floor. And even all of James' Quidditch equipment had been safely put on shelves to keep it from getting stepped on. She walked over to the bed where James was lying, apparently having a wrestling match with his bed clothes.

She frowned, watching him tossing, turning, and moaning something in his sleep. Sabine listened carefully and blanched when she finally figured out that he was calling out to Lily in his sleep. Once again, her stomach started twisting into knots, and she figured it was best to try and wake him up if they were still going to try to finish the prank tonight. Taking a deep breath, more to calm her nerves, Sabine reached out to wake him from the dream. Grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, she tried to wake him up.

"Potter! Get up, you lazy arse!" she called. James stirred around for a moment beneath the covers, but did not wake. "Get up, James, you prat! We've got work to do!"

"Lily?" James asked sleepily, not even cracking his eyes open. "Lily, please…stay here with me…don't go anywhere." Sabine's temper finally broke with that. Here she was, standing over his bed, trying to wake him up, and he thinks that SHE'S Lily. If he had been awake, she probably would have hauled off and decked him one good time for that. But seeing as he was still off in Lily-la-la land somewhere, she just started shaking him harder, raising her voice to try to wake him up fully.

"No, you arse, I'm not your precious Lily! Now get out of that bed. The boys are waiting on you outside in the Common Room!" she ground out. It seemed as though James had finally awaken, cause he stirred around and opened his eyes. Even in the darkness, Lily could see the light reflected from his blue eyes. It really was amazing how lost she could get in his beautiful blue orbs, but she had business to take care of right now.

"Sa..Sabine?" James asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing in here? How long have you been in here" Sabine shook her head in aggravation, but tried to keep her tone neutral.

"I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes now." she said. "The boys are outside in the Common Room waiting for you. If you don't hurry up and get a move on, the prank is going to go down the drain!"

"Ahh, bloody hell, I forgot to set the alarm to wake me up, didn't I?" he griped. 

"Apparently so." Sabine said. James grabbed his glasses from beside his bed and quickly put them on.

"Thanks for coming to get me, Lily." he said in a rush. "I'd hate to have to forgo the prank because I over slept. I don't know what I'd do without you here to keep me straight. Thanks, Lily." Sabine stood, shock still when he said that. _'That bloody idiot just called me Lily! Twice!'_ she thought angrily. _'Can't he get his mind focused on something besides that girl for more than thirty seconds?!'_

"What did you just call me, James?" she asked him warily. 

"Huh?" he asked, confused. He quickly picked up a shirt and threw it on over his head. "I called you Sabine. What else would I call you?"

"You called me Lily." Sabine said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.

"Why would I do that?" James asked, turning to grab the bag that he had filled with their pranking gear earlier that day.

"I don't know, but you did." she said sourly. " Is your mind some where else right now, Prongs?" James just looked at her funnily and picked the bag up, slinging it over his shoulder effortlessly. Sabine threw the boy a dirty glare and stalked out of the dorm, almost slamming the door in James' face, and waking up Lily. The Head Girl came running out of her room, only to find the Marauders and Sabine standing in the Common Room she shared with James.

"Sabine?? Remus?? Sirius?? Peter??" she questioned sternly. "What are you guys doing here? It's after curfew and you should be in the dorms."

"Stuff it, Evans!" Sabine snapped angrily. "I've had enough of you as it is! So don't start with the holier than thou crap right now! Cause I'm in just the mood to hex someone into their next life time!" The other boys in the room immediately figured that something had gone wrong, and stepped back to let the girl have some room to fume. What puzzled them the most was the fact that Sabine had been acting normal when she went into James' room, and now, not even five minutes later, she was ready to bite someone's head off.

"Sabine?!" James glared at her. "What's your problem? Lily didn't do anything to you?"

"Whoa, guys," Sirius asked, stepping in between the two Gryffindors. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"You can stuff it to, Potter!" Sabine said venomously, completely ignoring Sirius' interruption. "If you'd open your bloody eyes and see what's in front of you, it would save you a hell of a lot of trouble in the future!" And with that, Sabine had stormed out of the Head's Common Room and back towards Gryffindor Tower, angry as all Hell.

Now, sitting in her room, and trying to stem the flow of tears, she knew she would have to explain her actions to her friends in the morning. Once again, she pulled out the journal, grabbed a quill, and started writing on the same worn page.

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He talks about you in his sleep

And there's nothing I can do to keep from crying

When he calls your name, Jolene.

And I could easily understand

How you could easily take my man

But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,

I'm begging of you, please don't' take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,

Please don't take him just because you can.

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A/N - Okay. I know that one was kind of short, but the next chapter should make up for it. Until then, remember to leave me a review.

Later,

A.A.


	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was. Characters belong to Rowling. Lyrics belong to Parton. Plot -what there is of one, anyways- belongs to me.

A/N - Nothing much to say right now…… So just enjoy.

Chapter 4

Of course, Sabine apologized to Lily the next day, blaming the outburst on a nonexistent bout of PMS, and an all around annoyance of James being late when they needed him the most for a prank. Lily had accepted the apology with her usual grace, but Sabine knew that she had not bought the lame excuse. Although Sabine really could not have cared any less, to be honest. Her anger now was towards James, not Lily.

The one thing that did seem to bother her though, was James' animosity towards her since she had snapped at Lily. It had been a while after New Year's Eve night before they even started talking again. It had actually taken Sirius prodding around before they had sat down and had a decent conversation again, even if it had been forced on her part.

During the time that James and Sabine were avoiding each other, Remus and Sirius had finally figured out what was going on between the two. Sirius had been voted to confront Sabine after voicing his opinion, but had not gotten the reaction he had been expecting.

"Sabine, we need to talk." Sirius said grimly, sitting down across the table in the Common Room from her one night, after most of the House had went to sleep.

"What is it, Padfoor?" she asked. "I'm kinda busy at the moment." she was in the middle of some particularly hard homework, not really paying attention to her long time friend. Unfortunately, his next sentence pulled her attention to him completely.

"I want to know what the bloody Hell is going on between Lily, you, and James." he said gruffly. Sabine's hand instantly stilled, her quill poised over her homework. Sirius saw her gulp unconsciously and take a deep breath as though she was calming her self. 

"What are you talking about, Sirius?" she asked, not looking at him for fear of him seeing the hurt in her eyes. "Nothing's going on."

"Damn it all to Hell, Sabine!" he growled. "You and James have hardly spoken since New Years Eve night! You avoid each other like the plague! Both of you have been sulking for weeks! And you keep shooting Lily death glares any time you see her, whether she's with James or not! Now tell me again that something isn't going on and I'll see if I believe it!"

"Nothing is going on, Sirius." she said firmly, still staring at her papers. "You're imagining things." Sirius looked at the girl and frowned. He had been watching her carefully since the episode New Year's Even night, and the conclusion he had reached was somewhat startling.

Sabine was in love with James, and it was slowly torturing her to see him chase after Lily. He'd been around girls long enough to know the signs, and she was showing all of them. _'Although she does a damn good job of covering them up most of the time!'_

Of course, Sirius had wanted to kick his own arse for not realizing it sooner. But with Remus' insistence, Sirius had come to confront his childhood friend about her behavior.

"You love him, don't you?" Sirius asked, for once living up to his namesake. 

"What are you babbling about, Sirius?" Sabine murmured.

"James. You're in love with James, and it's tearing you up watching him go after Lily day after day."

"You've lost your mind, Padfoot." she answered, quickly stuffing her parchment into her book bag in an attempt to get away from him.

"No, I haven't'." he stated simply. "I've just been observing the painfully obvious."

"I'm outta here. I don't have to listen to this." she said, picking up her bag and turning to leave.

"He doesn't realize, Sabby-kitten." Sirius said quietly, using the nick name he had given here years ago when they were children. "He doesn't know how you feel about him." Sabine's shoulders visibly sagged, realizing that Sirius knew. He knew that James' pursuit of Lily was slowly killing her inside.

"And he never will." she said slowly.

"Tell him, Sabine." Sirius said gently. "Tell him what you feel and try to resolve the tension you guys have created around each other."

"No." she said firmly, putting her emotions in check. "I can't face him. I can't tell him how I feel, knowing good and well that his heart belongs to Lily. I won't put him in a position where he has to choose between a childhood friend and the woman he's head over heels in love with."

"Just because he's in love with Lily doesn't mean he's going to forget about you." Sirius said. "You're the only other woman besides his mother that knows everything about him. Hell, to be brutally honest, you probably know things even me and his mother don't know about."

"And that's exactly why things shouldn't change. I'm his friend and confidant." she said sadly. "I won't risk my friendship with him."

"You're scared." Sirius said suddenly, looking at the dejected girl in front of him that usually held a fire for life that could not be matched by anything in the magical or Muggle worlds. He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "You're scared of what could happen if he did find out." 

"You're right, Padfoot." she said sniffling back the tears that threatened to escape. "I am scared. Scared of risking what I have with James when I know what the outcome will be, at least for my part. I'll never have his love the way Lily does, and I know that. To James, I'm his sister and friend, nothing more. And as that, I want him happy, even if it means he's with Lily, and not me."

"He has the right to know, kitten." Sirius said, looking at her carefully.

"He also has a right to be happy." she said. "It's not that I don't like Lily, quite the opposite actually. She's a strong willed witch who can match James' wit and sarcasm. And he loves every minute of it. I just feel kind of cheated, you know? But I'm too scared of the rejection I know I'll see in his face if he ever finds out."

"So, you'll sacrifice your happiness for him?" he asked.

"In a heartbeat." she said, looking him in the eyes. Sirius frowned, shaking his head.

"You're setting yourself up for a heartache, Kitten." he said. 

"I'm going to have a heartache whether he ever finds out how I feel, or not." she answered with a sad smile.

"But…"

"Leave him be, Sirius." she said. "He's better off not knowing."

"What about you, Sabine?" he asked. "Are you going to keep up the façade of a friend, and just ignore your own feelings?"

"Yes." she answered. "I've been doing it for nearly two years now, and I don't see a reason to stop now."  
"Two years!" Sirius exclaimed. "You've been putting yourself through this torture for two bloody years!!"

"Yes, two years." she said firmly. "I'm going to apologize to James soon, anyway, for New Year's Even night. Then, I'm going to set things right with Lily, and sit back and let James do as he pleases."  
"You sure heave a way of complicating things." Sirius growled.

"I'm a female." she grinned. "It's my nature to complicate things." She turned around and nodded to the boy.

"You're a nut." he said finally.

"I know." she said sadly. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again. "Keep this between us, please, Sirius. I want him happy. And if he knew….he'd be anything but that."

"Kitten,…. I can't see you struggle like this. You deserve to be happy, too." he said, pulling her into a hug, and mentally damning James for putting her through this.

"My happiness will come when I see James happy." she sighed, turning to climb up the stairs to her dorm after breaking out of his friendly embrace. When she was finally out of sight, Sirius sighed.

"You unselfish wench." he said to an empty Common Room. "Quit trying to play the innocent martyr and just be a human girl. Maybe you need to take some of your own advice and look to see what's in front of you instead of chasing after a dream."

Sirius tried to go to sleep that night, but listening to the mumbles of Lily's name from James' lips and the soft snores from Peter and Remus kept him from finally falling into the land of dreams. His thoughts lingered on Sabine, and her reluctance to share her feelings with James. He tried to go to sleep, but just could not settle down knowing that Sabine was probably crying her eyes out in her dorm, clutching the little black dog plushy he had given her after a trip into Muggle London one day. He knew that she had a tendency to cry into the worn dog when something was the matter with her. He had already caught her doing it on the few times she had actually allowed someone to catch her crying. In fact, the last time he had found her crying, he had taken the plushy from her, transformed into his Animagi dog form, and stayed with her until she finally calmed down. He still had not figured out why, but Sabine seemed to unconsciously draw comfort from any dog, whether it be a plushy, or a friend in an Animagi form. 

Turning over in his bed, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He would not tell James anything, mainly because he knew Sabine had been correct when she said James would be in somewhat of an awkward position if he found out. _'I'll keep quiet for now.'_ he thought. _'But if this gets any worse, I'm going to do something about it. Sabine may have a strong will, but she's till a woman under all of that steel and nerve, and she does not deserve to be hurt because James won't open his eyes….'_

As promised, Sabine finally apologized to James and set things straight with lily. James was ecstatic to have his friend back at his side, and Sabine quickly retook her position as the fifth Marauder and James' close friend.

As the weeks passed by, it seemed that James was actually making some sort of significant headway with Lily Evans, due mostly to Sabine's instructions and suggestions to him on what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

Of course, during this time, Sirius watched as Sabine acted the part of a devoted friend flawlessly. It surprised him most to see that Sabine actually took pleasure in helping James with _'Operation Lily',_ as she had dubbed it. When James was happy, so was Sabine. But when James was depressed and doubting his sanity in the Evans' department, Sabine would make him snap out of it some how or another. Sirius was never really sure what she did to get the boy back on track, but whatever it was worked every time.

The final straw for Sirius had been broken on a Saturday morning right before a Gryffindor Quidditch game against Ravenclaw. The bustle in the Great Hall had been deafening, and Sirius -still recovering from his night time ramblings in the girl's Ravenclaw dorms the night before- had took off to the Gryffindor locker rooms to prepare for the upcoming game.

He'd spotted someone in the stands when he'd come out to do some warm up laps. Peering down from his position in the air, he'd seen Sabine, writing in a journal of some sort. She had waved, closed the book, and left before he could finish his warm-up lap. During her haste, she had not noticed that the very page she had been writing on had slipped out of the book, and was flattening in the stands. Sirius, curious as ever, had waited until she was out of sight, before landing on the stands and picking up the paper. When he read the words she had penned, he felt his heart break into a million tiny pieces. 

__

You could have your choice of men

But I could never love again.

He's the only one for me, Jolene.

I had to have this talk with you

My happiness depends on you,

And whatever you decided to do, Jolene

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'She's driving herself batty…' he thought angrily. The words on the paper were making sense, especially when he remember that Lily and Sabine had been having little heart to heart talks as of late, undoubtedly about James. As well as the past few Hogsmeade weekends when he knew that Lily had turned down at least half a dozen boys that had asked her to go with them.

"This has bloody well got to stop!" he said vehemently, stuffing the parchment into his pocket. "I've had enough of this…"

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A/N - Okay, here we go. Now, I've got Sirius into the fray. Wonder what he's going to do about this? Hmmm?

Well, please remember to review, I really want to know what you think about it.

Later,

A.A.


	5. Chapter 5

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Disclaimer- It's not mine. It never was. Characters belong the Rowling, and lyrics belong to Dolly Parton.

A/N- Okay people. This is the last chapter in this crazy story of unrequited love and heartache. Hope you enjoyed it, and remember to leave me a review.

Later,

A.A.

Chapter 5

Sirius' answer to the problem had been simple. Stuff James and Sabine into a magically locked room, with him playing instigator, until Sabine finally cracked and told James what was really going on. Everything would have worked fine, but Sabine had been avoiding him as of lately, especially after she saw him on the Pitch that morning and he had later confronted her with the piece of paper she had penned the verse on.

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'She probably things I'm up so something.' he had thought. _'That woman knows me too bloody well.'_

The end of the school year was drawing to a close, with only about two months before graduation. Sirius was on his way to the Head's dormitories to speak with James when he heard James and Sabine in the middle of a conversation. He did not want to interrupt, but he was curious as to what was being said, so he decided to do a little Marauder eavesdropping.

"I am going to ask her tomorrow." James had said, the happiness obvious in his voice. "I think she'll a actually agree this time."

"Well, good luck, Casanova." Sabine said. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Do you think she'll say yes, Sabine?" James asked, suddenly completely serious.

"Potter, as persistent as you've been, I'm surprised Evans hasn't already fallen for you." Sabine answered, a small amount of humor in her voice.

"Thanks, Kitten." he murmured, slipping up and calling her the pet name Sirius had given her. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd never have gotten this far with Lily. Who knew women could be so complicated. I owe you so much."

"You're a good guy, James." Sabine said slowly. "Lily's lucky to have someone like you to care so much about her."

"Flattery gets you no where." James said, smiling at her.

"Unless I'm talking about you." Sabine countered. They laughed and it was a few minutes before either of them spoke again. "Do you love her, James?"

"Say what?" the Head Boy asked, caught off guard by her blunt question.

"Do you love her?" Sabine asked again. It was a few seconds before James said anything, and Sirius figured that he was either about to lie to Sabine, or was trying to figure out exactly how to answer that question.

"More than anything." James finally answered. "I'd die for her in a heartbeat if I had to, Kitten."

"Well, I guess it's time I let you go, and grow up." Sabine said quietly.

"Sabine, even with Lily in my life, things will always be the same with us. Don't doubt that, please."

"It's just awkward, seeing you so wrapped up in Lily. I honestly never thought it would happen. She was so stubborn at first." Sabine said, the humor in her voice once again, even though Sirius could tell it was forced.

"So the amazing James Potter sunrises you, yet again." James asked, his cocky attitude once again in place.

"Yeah, and you can surprise me even more when I see Evans by your side for the Hogsmeade trip this weekend." she said. "Now scram. You've got to get things set up for tomorrow."

"Okay, I'm going." James said, getting up from the chair. Sirius heard the rustle of school bags and quickly ducked into an alcove near the door.

"Kitten?"

"Yeah, Prongs?"

"I just wanted you to know, that had I never met Lily…..you'd be in her place right now." he said quietly. There was no answer at first, and Sirius was beginning to wonder what was going on.

"Get outta here, Prongs." Sabine said finally, a lilt in her voice as though she did not believe what he was saying. "Lily's waiting for you in the Great Hall."

"But..Kitten..I'm.."

"Get a move on Romeo." Sabine said, her voice forced and on the brink of cracking, even if James couldn't tell. The humor was still there, but only so. But obviously James did not pick up on the hurt, and only heard the humor. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." James left the room and Sirius heard the door click shut. It was not long after that when Sabine came out of the room and headed towards Gryffindor Tower, her eyes red from crying, but a small smile on her face. 

Sirius just stood there, letting the conversation sink into his head.

James had known what was happening with Sabine, yet he had kept bugging her about Lily. Why? What had been the point? Sirius had no clue, and felt like hitting James for treating Sabine like that. James might practically be his own brother, but Sirius drew the line with purposely using Sabine's feelings as a way for him to get closer to Lily. Of course, Sirius' reputation with the females of Hogawarts wasn't exactly squeaky clean, but he'd never let himself stoop so low as to use one of his friend's feelings to get closer to a crush he had.

The next day, Sirius avoided James as much as possible, not that it mattered since James seemed to be walking on pins and needles half the day. All four Marauders shared a Herbology class that day, along with Sabine and Lily, and the Hufflepuffs. When Professor Dandy announced that they would work in pairs, James latched a hold of Lily immediately and pulled her to the far side of the greenhouse. Sirius cornered Sabine and tried to find out what was going on after watching James bodily pull the Head Girl from her group of friends without so much as an explanation.

"He's asking Lily to Hogsmeade this weekend." she answered absently. "And to be his girlfriend, as well."

"That insensitive prat!" Sirius grimaced.

"Leave him be, Sirius." Sabine said, grabbing a pair of pruning shears. "James and I sorted out our differences, and I gave him and Lily my blessing, not that he really needed it to begin with. He's happy now."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, still angry with James. Sabine grinned and pulled the branches back on a nearby bush, revealing the two Head students wrapped up in each other, and a contented smile on their faces.

"Because I just know." Sabine said with a grin, catching James' eye and winking. The Gryffindor Head boy gave a goofy grin and hugged Lily even tighter. He smiled even more and silently mouthed to Sabine, _'She said yes. Thanks, Kitten.'_ Sabine allowed the bushes to fall back into place, once again concealing the new couple from view.

"She accepted?" Sirius asked, bewildered that the fiery redhead had finally given into James' relentless pursuits after all that time. "She actually said yes?"

"Do you think they'd be standing like that right now if she hadn't?" Sabine asked with an amused grin.

"What about you?" he asked, looking at her. He was surprised to find her smiling as though nothing was the matter. He figured she'd be covering up her own sadness, but what puzzled him was that she seemed genuinely happy for James and Lily. 

"What about me?" she asked, walking to another plant and beginning to prune the leaves back.

"You and James…." he began, only to be stopped by Sabine putting a hand over his mouth.

"James and I came to an agreement yesterday, Padfoot." she said. "I'm fine. Everything is back to normal, and that's all you need to worry about. Okay?"  
"Do I want to know how you two reconciled this?" he asked, removing her hand from his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Probably not." she said, seemingly contemplating the idea. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you don't." Sirius only shook his head in complete confusion. 

"You amaze me sometimes, Kitten." he said, finally grabbing a pair of pruning shears as the Professor walked by. "You really do." Sabine only smiled and shook her head as she snipped one of the branches from a nearby plant. She was grateful for Sirius' concern, but she and James had come to an agreement about Lily. Sabine would let James go, and allow him to try his wings with Lily. By now, Sabine knew that James would never be hers. He would forever be her friend, but nothing more. Lily Jolene Evans was the one girl his heart belonged to, and that would never change.

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'Well, at least I get to be named Godmother for their first child.' she thought with a grin. _'James assured me of that much……'_

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Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

I'm begging of you please don't take my man. 

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please don't take him even though you can.

Jolene………

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A/N - Okay, this is finally out of my system. Now I can get back to my other stories. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoyed this little story glimpse. 

So, if you like it, hate it, or could care less, please remember to leave a review.

Later,

A.A.


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